Ingestible, electrical device for stimulating tissues in a gastrointestinal tract of an organism

Abstract

In one aspect, an ingestible, electrical device, comprises one or more electrodes comprising a biocompatible conducting material and a biocompatible insulating material; a generator connected to the one or more electrodes; and an outer casing enclosing the one or more electrodes and the generator, the outer casing configured to dissolve in an aqueous environment of the organism; wherein the one or more electrodes have a first form factor when enclosed in the outer casing and a second form factor following a dissolution of the outer casing, the first form factor is a form factor that is collapsed an increased amount relative to an amount that the second form factor is collapsed, and the second form factor is a form factor that is collapsed a decreased amount relative to an amount that the first form factor is collapsed.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An ingestible, electrical device, comprising:
 two or more collapsible electrodes each comprising a biocompatible conducting material and a biocompatible insulating material, wherein at least one collapsible electrode of the two or more collapsible electrodes has a first form factor when enclosed in the outer casing and a second form factor following a dissolution of the outer casing, wherein the first form factor is a form factor that is collapsed an increased amount relative to an amount that the second form factor is collapsed, and wherein the second form factor is a form factor that is collapsed a decreased amount relative to an amount that the first form factor is collapsed; 
 a generator connected to the two or more collapsible electrodes, with the generator being configured to deliver one or more of a current or a voltage across the two or more collapsible electrodes to stimulate one or more internal cells of an organism that ingests the ingestible, electrical device; and 
 an outer casing enclosing the two or more collapsible electrodes and the generator, the outer casing configured to dissolve in an aqueous environment of the organism, 
 wherein a portion of a first one of the two or more collapsible electrodes is configured to move independently of a portion of a second one of the two or more collapsible electrodes once the outer casing dissolves. 
 
     
     
       2. The ingestible, electrical device of  claim 1 , wherein the two or more collapsible electrodes comprise a complementary anode cathode pair. 
     
     
       3. The ingestible, electrical device of  claim 1 , where the biocompatible conducting material comprises at least one of a bioinert metal or a conducting polymer. 
     
     
       4. The ingestible, electrical device of  claim 3 , wherein the bioinert metal comprises at least one of copper, gold, magnesium, silver, platinum, or zinc. 
     
     
       5. The ingestible, electrical device of  claim 1 , wherein the biocompatible insulating material comprises a bioexcretable copolymer. 
     
     
       6. The ingestible, electrical device of  claim 5 , wherein the bioexcretable copolymer comprises at least one of polyester, polyanhydride, polyamide, polyether, polyphosphoester, polyorthoester, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). 
     
     
       7. The ingestible, electrical device of  claim 1 , wherein the generator comprises a water-activated battery comprising one or more biocompatible materials. 
     
     
       8. The ingestible, electrical device of  claim 1 , wherein the generator comprises a receiver coil and a rectifying circuit, each of the receiver coil and the rectifying circuit comprising one or more of a biodegradable material and a bioinert metal, the receiver coil configured to receive a near-field radio frequency signal, and the rectifying circuit configured to convert energy from the near-field radio frequency signal into the one or more of the current or the voltage. 
     
     
       9. The ingestible, electrical device of  claim 1 , wherein the generator comprises one or more fuel cells. 
     
     
       10. The ingestible, electrical device of  claim 1 , wherein the generator is configured to provide up to 0.1 mA of current for up to 90 minutes. 
     
     
       11. The ingestible, electrical device of  claim 1 , wherein the outer casing comprises at least one of gelatin, synthetic alphahydroxy polymer, crosslinked carbohydrate, polyester, polyanhydride, polyamide, polyether, polyphosphoester, polyorthoester, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). 
     
     
       12. The ingestible, electrical device of  claim 1 , wherein a timing of the dissolution of the outer casing is based on a thickness of and a degree of crosslinking within a material of the outer casing. 
     
     
       13. The ingestible, electrical device of  claim 1 , wherein the ingestible, electrical device is an electrical device that stimulates one or more internal cells of a gastrointestinal tract of the organism. 
     
     
       14. The ingestible, electrical device of  claim 1 , wherein the first form factor of the two or more collapsible electrodes is formed by configuring the two or more collapsible electrodes into a planar geometry and straining the two or more collapsible electrodes equibiaxially during deposition of the bioinert metal to promote thin film metallic buckling of the two or more collapsible electrodes.